Letting Go Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Anger, aggression and confusion are a few symptoms of the fabled myth of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). An over whelming feeling that devours men and women of the armed forces, but hasn’t been talked about openly until, now. A subject no one likes to openly speak of, due to fear of being cast out as an outsider among the normal people who never witnessed something so traumatic can function in normal society today. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a psychological disorder where the person diagnosed with PTSD encounters various symptoms caused by a traumatic event such as combat exposure, sexual assault or a serious accident. A traumatic event caused by unpredictable, unforeseen circumstances can lead to an intense negative nature.†¦show more content†¦The trauma that is attached to all of these sudden life changing injuries often lead back to substance abuse, alcohol abuse that is attached to a mental illness which takes a toll on a soldiers family as well. Ann Jones writes in her book, They were Soldiers: How Americas wounded come home the untold story, Sooner or later almost every American soldier comes home on a stretcher, in a box, in an altered state of mind. As the wars in foreign countries ends, the war continues on in within our soldiers. In an essay titled, Leaving the Battlefield: soldier shares story of PTSD, Chaplain Major Carlos Huerta tells of his experience dealing with PTSD. (Maj) Chaplain Huerta tells of his experiences in Iraq in 2004 and how the painful memories and how vividly he can remember every detail from the 6 year old boy who caught an IED during Ramadan or all the doors he knocked to tell children their mother or father weren’t coming home. Chaplain Huerta didn’t understand what triggered his PTSD, but he knew something was not right. Like most soldiers in the military Chaplain Huerta tells of, his mind never leaving the battlefield. The experiences Chaplain Huerta felt were overwhelming, but the fear of seeking help left him only an impression of the Army seeing him as a burden or weak. Chaplain Huerta goes on to say, â€Å". I have no bullet holes to show my wounds. I will not get any medal that will recognize them. If I did, I would be afraid and ashamed to wear it inShow MoreRelatedPost-Traumatic Stress Disorder1496 Words   |  6 Pages Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder is a psychological reaction to experiencing or witnessing a significantly stressful, traumatic, or shocking event. Did you know that one in three returning troops are being diagnosed with Post-traumatic stress disorder and less than 40% will seek help (PTSD Foundation of America). When people think of PTSD they automatically assume it just has to do with war veterans. But what people dont know is that children and teens all over theRead MoreHolden Caulfield Is On His Own Psychological Journey1450 Words   |  6 Pagestriggered by the traumatic event of his brother, Allie, dying 4 years prior. The death of Allie has affected Holden in all aspects of his life, including friends, school, actions, and thoughts. This causes concern in Holden’s parents. They are concerned with his health and well-being, therefore send Holden to a rehab center. His parents fear that Holden may have Post - Traumatic Stress Disorder, and have him psychoanalyzed. So, Hold en struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder because he showsRead MorePtsd Is An Abbreviation For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Essay1282 Words   |  6 Pagesyear there are well over 7 million cases of PTSD that are announced (Kledzik). A small percentage of the people on Earth at some point in their life span will have some form of PTSD. A solution that will be able to help these people is commonly referred to as â€Å"man’s best friend.† For many years PTSD dogs have been useful to relieve the severe symptoms of this disorder. They have proven themselves to be more than just an animal. Post-traumatic stress disorder dogs are far beyond just man’s best friend;Read MoreBeloved Essay981 Words   |  4 PagesThe effects of stress on a person’s life can be calamitous. It affects every part of a person’s body and makes them feel useless and alone. In essence, some stress every now and then in our lives is good, but an overwhelming amount of s tress can be devastating. An example of overwhelming stress is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD. This disorder occurs when someone is exposed to horrific events in their life causing them severe and ongoing emotional damage due to the extremeRead MorePost-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder Research Paper757 Words   |  3 Pages  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD) is part of many veteran’s lives in the U.S. today. PTSD is a serious mental and emotional disorder that people often don’t understand or don’t know about. It’s defined as a mental illness that develops after a person has lived through a traumatizing event, such as sexual assault, physical abuse, threat of death, or serious injury. Most people who experience a distressing event don’t develop PTSD, but for those who do, it’s extremely terrifying to go throughRead MoreCauses of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Essay980 Words   |  4 PagesPost traumatic st ress disorder focus primarily on the way that the mind is affected by traumatic experiences. At least 50% of all adults and children are exposed to a psychologically traumatic event they either have been through war or have witnessed a death, threat to their life, bad accident, a bad natural disaster such as earthquake, tornado etc. PTSD is linked to structural neurochemical changes in the central nervous system which may have a direct biological effect on health, vulnerabilityRead MoreInformative Speech on Health Effects of War1418 Words   |  6 Pages2001 have been traumatic brain injury (TBI), depression and most commonly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—and the diagnoses often overlap] Body I. Until the 20th century little was known about the emotional effects of war on soldiers and it wasnt until soldiers were studied psychologically that we began to understand what had happened to them. A. PTSD is essentially a manifestation of the brains attempt to cope with trauma and failing to do so adequately. B. With PTSD in soldiers, theRead MorePreventing Ptsd During Military Personnel1371 Words   |  6 PagesPreventing PTSD in military personnel Goals: I aim to research if it is possible to prevent or make it harder to obtain PTSD in military personnel through the creation of a new drug, or use of an existing one. Currently, the problem with using medications is that it merely blocks the amount of distress and sadness that is brought on by PTSD. I intend to use some form of medication that could be taken daily by soldiers that would prevent the acquisition of PTSD when a trauma occurs, instead of blockingRead MoreThe Effects Of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder1102 Words   |  5 PagesPeople who suffer from PTSD may look for resources, which can help them forget about their experiences, â€Å"People experience a range of reactions following trauma. Most people recover fine, given a little time. However, a small but noteworthy number go on to develop more serious, chronic problems, like PTSD.†(PTSD: National Center for PTSD) When one has the opportunity to erase certain memories it can be something one might look into. Post Tr aumatic Stress Disorder can be life changing for one, thereforeRead MorePost Traumatic Stress Disorder ( Ptsd )2301 Words   |  10 Pages Post -Traumatic Stress Disorder When hearing about Post-traumatic stress disorder, majority of people think about war veterans. Many Americans suffer from Post -traumatic stress disorder other than those who have been at war. However some Americans are not aware that they have the disorder. Post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD is rarely acknowledged or fully understood by many. â€Å"Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental disorder that follows experiencing or witnessing an

Organic Food And Farming Benefits For Health - 826 Words

Organic Food and Farming Benefits for Health To the casual shopper it may appear that one of the biggest differences between organic and non organic food can be found on the price tag, however, it is important to realize that the true cost of food is not necessarily the price listed on the price tag. Looking more into the quality, how its made and where the food comes from, is beneficial in our choice of the food we pick. Picking organic food have become ever-so popular. Organic food is grown or raised using little or no synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or other artificial chemicals. Instead, organic farmers try to work with natural processes to promote the health of their crops and livestock. For example, an organic farmer might apply compost (decaying plant material) instead of chemical fertilizer to replenish the soil. Instead of using pesticides, the farmer may rely on natural predators to control insect pests. (Funk Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia) Some people choose organic food because they prefer the taste. But there are many more factors that influence the decision to choose organic food. One of the factors include that: Organic foods are produced without the use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). This entire topic of GMO’s is a rather important topic in of itself, but going on briefly about what it is, will help understand it better. GMO’s are living organisms whose genetic material has been artificially manipulatedShow MoreRelatedOrganic Farming: Organic Food Benefits Essay1039 Words   |  5 PagesOrganic Food Benefits With the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle being abundantly clear, healthy food choices are now in the spotlight. The demand for organic foods among U.S. consumers is on the rise due to the assumption that it is a healthier and safer food choice. As a consequence of staggering amounts of greenwashing thrust upon consumers today, labels and claims of health benefits have become overwhelming and confusing. Buyers must seek the facts for nutrition and safety informationRead MoreOrganic Products And Non Organic Foods Essay1240 Words   |  5 PagesOrganic products and non-organic foods have been a subject of interest for me for a great amount of time because I have often questioned whether there really was a difference between the two types of products. I always wondered what the nutritional, economic, laborious, and pollution differences were, if any, in the creation of the two types of products. . Through research, I have discovered a few sources from claiming data, which pe rmits me to focus more than a physical distinction of the two. InRead MoreBenefits And Benefits Of Organic Foods950 Words   |  4 Pages3 November 13, 2014 Mrs. Lumpkins Benefits of Organic Foods Sales of organic food have risen steadily over the past couple of years, reaching nearly $30 billion in 2011, or 4.2% of all U.S. food and beverage sales, (Adams). Many people believe that organic foods are ultimately the better choice when it comes to health due to the absence of pesticides and hormones. But other people—especially those whose food budgets may be more defined—wonder if organic food is really worth the inflated price tagRead MoreThe Effects Of Pesticides On Organic Farming1653 Words   |  7 PagesHumans initially began farming organically when European farmers noticed a decrease in soil quality and crop health due to the use of chemical fertilizers (â€Å"Pesticides in Organic†¦Ã¢â‚¬  1). This drop in soil quality left the farmers no other choice but to cease the use of chemical fertilizers and begin implementing less harmful supplements in order to improve crop quality (â€Å"An Oral History†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). This less invasive method of farmin g, otherwise known as organic farming, takes into account â€Å"the medium andRead MoreOrganic Food : An Art1512 Words   |  7 PagesOrganic Food â€Å"To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art† (Francois De La Rochefoucauld). For the past few years’ organic food has become very popular among today’s society. The topic has been spread across headlines of magazines for example, men’s and women’s health magazine. Organic food has made for some very intriguing and diverse conversions on documentaries, talk shows, and health seminars. Organic food is plain and simple it is the process inRead MoreOrganic Food And Its Effects On The Environment1411 Words   |  6 Pages Organic Food â€Å"To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art† (Francois De La Rochefoucauld). For the past few years organic food has become very popular among today s society. The topic has been spread across headlines of magazines for example, mens and womans health magazine. Organic food has made for very intriguing and diverse conversions on documentaries, talk shows, and health seminars. Organic food is plain and simple it is the process in which theRead MoreOrganic vs. Conventional Foods Essay1119 Words   |  5 Pagesthe demand for food is higher than ever. This increase in food demand also calls for more efficient ways of growing and providing the food. Two methods that are very controversial are the organic and conventional method. While many people support the organic method because of its known benefits, others feel that it is an over inflated industry that cheats consumers out of their money. But recently many studies have disproved those critics. These s tudies prove that Organic food is a better choiceRead MoreThe Organic Of Organic Foods Essay1576 Words   |  7 Pagescountless options of produce. Shopping in supermarkets, consumers will find many stacks of foods labeled â€Å"Organic†. These foods has opened up more opportunity for both the seller and the consumer, showing to be the highest emerging sectors of the food industry in the past century, as another substitute to conventional foods that is seen in the supermarket. Organic foods, has been shown to be the goods of a farming system which avoids the exploitation of synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, additives andRead More Organic Foods: They Are Only Natural! Essay examples1117 Words   |  5 Pages When going to the grocery store or supermarket, people have a one track mind. Their one and only concern is food, food, and more food. Most shoppers come prepared with a list, so they can get in, get the supplies they need, and go happily on their way. Some shoppers ten d to pick out brand name or well advertised products. Others prefer the brands they grew up with as kids. However, many choose the money saving route and buy only the items that are on sale or the cheap knock-offs of the originalRead MoreOrganic Farming Can Not Feed The World Essay1740 Words   |  7 Pagessince the Agricultural Revolution, farming has always been organic. As the human population grew, conventional farming, farming with non-organic methods (using synthetic fertilizers and pesticides), became prevalent to satisfy the population’s demand for food. Recently, organic farming has attracted consumers for its health, environmental, and agricultural benefits versus conventional farming, however, there is a debate whether organic farming can produce enough food to satisfy the current population

There is only one best way to manage †Free Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the There is only one best way to manage. Answer: Introduction: There is only one best way to manage, I strongly disapprove of this particular sentence or a notion, as there can be n number of best ways possible to do a task depending on multiple things like people, culture, shared values, beliefs, etc. The differentmanagement theories also say the same, in the light of different theories which were laid down bymanagement gurus experts. Every organisation has decision makers who are entirely/partially different from other firms people, they though might face same or different business challenges which must be tackled, everyone uses his/her own best judgement to arrive at the best possible solution which has to be the best solution, or the best way to manage the situation(Hill, Jones Schilling, 2014). In the following essay I would be using different management theories and few examples which would support my disapproval to the sentence, There is only one best way to manage. I believe in an alternate theory, There is no one best way; The conting ency theory. Management: Management is common in day to day life, so when it comes to organisation, no matter whatever the structure may be, management becomes pivotal to the firm.Management can be understood as a process of planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling(Waring, 2016). There are various theories of management which evolves around the fact that management can be seen as a study of both science and art. Management theories framework (Jaber, 2016) In this case however, contingency theory would solve the purpose. Contingency Theory: This theory is based on the idea that there is no single best way to manage. Contingency refers to the immediate contignent circumstances, successful organisation tailor their planning, managing, organising controlling activities to their particular circumstances, in othe words leaders should definitely identify the condition of a task, people involved and requirements of management job as parts of complete management solution(Jones George, 2016). This approach is based on a simple fact that there is no universal answer to many questions because situation, people, organisation vary and change all the time. Most often there is no one right answer when mangers ask the questions: what is the right thing to do? Should we have mechanistic or an organic structure? A functional or divisional structure? Wide or narrow span of management? Tall or flat? Centralized or decentralized? What motivational and incentive plan to be used? Thus , the answer clearly depends on the criticality of the situation, environment and internal contingencies(Otley, 2016). Some of the factors which supports the claim that there is no one best way to manage can be: Size of the organisation How an organisation adapts to the environment. Strategies deployed by the companies. Assumptions of managers about the employees. Differences among resources and operation activities. Experience of the employees. Past experience of the managers. Situation handling ability of the managers Adapting to changing circumstances: No two situations are absolutely identical in any way , hence every situation after breaking down into its component requires a unique solution. For example, if one have to construct a building using some strategies, keeping in mind the purpose for which the building is built and all, the same strategy can not be applied if the same type of building has to build again for some other client. A very important aspect of this theory is that managers have to be really flexible and adaptive to any situation or contingency, because no one really likes and wants a manager who is dogmatic and inflexible, it then defies the entrie purpose of a manager. Every situation is unique and depending on the context of the situation the management must take a decision. The leaders ability is contingent upon various external factors also, his preferred style, the capabilities and behaviour of followers and the organisations climate.In case the leaders try to apply the same solution to similar situation, there is a 100 % probability that the situation will get out of hand, putting some bullet ideas of contingency theory supporting the claim, there is no one best way to manage(Mikes Kaplan, 2013) Companies are more like an open system, which requires the management to take care of the companys individual needs on the idea of uniqueness(McAdam, Miller McSorley, 2016) There cannot be one best and perfect way of organising , it completely depends on the organisation , task , situation , people and the kind of environment in which the situation is to be handled in and at times also the time at hand to tackle the situation. Management has to act on their own discretion rather than going and simply applying the previous treatment they did to a situation Different types or people, personality makes every entity unique to each other Conclusion:The contingency theory simply puts away with the classical theory of management which says there is one best way to manage, which is popularly also termed as organisational fit. All the organisation differ from each other in terms of its size, number of employees, their background, past experience, size of the firm, the type of capital, line of business, tenure of the company etc., with so much diversification at hand , its really impossible to have one best way to manage a situation/thing/people etc(Burke, 2017) The management therefore has to keep all these things in mind before evaluation a situation at hand and only then they can come up with the best solution to manage the situation. Effective leaders over the years have adopted and practised their own styles to evaluate a situation and only then have become successful in their profession. Every person is unique and so is people involved in the situation and also the climate of organisation and the climate of organisa tion, hence it becomes imperative to think of unique and different ways that are deemed fit in their own mind to tackle a situation; else the organisation will fall into the pit of repeated failures. Hence it can be said clearly There is no one best way to manage. References: Burke, W.W 2017, Organization change: Theory and practice, Sage Publications. Hill, C.W, Jones, G.R Schilling, M.A 2014, Strategic management: theory: an integrated approach. Cengage Learning. Jaber, M.Y 2016, Learning curves: Theory, models, and applications, CRC Press. Jones, G George, J 2015, Contemporary management, McGraw-Hill Higher Education. McAdam, R, Miller, K McSorley, C 2016, Towards a contingency theory perspective of quality management in enabling strategic alignment. International Journal of Production Economics, 14,pp.14-24. Mikes, A Kaplan, R.S 2013, Towards a contingency theory of enterprise risk management, McGraw-Hill. Otley, D 2016, The contingency theory of management accounting and control: 19802014, Management accounting research, 31, pp.45-62. Waring, S.P 2016, Taylorism transformed: Scientific management theory since 1945, UNC Press Books.

Pantheon Essays (681 words) - Domes, Pantheon, Rome, Pantheon

Pantheon Pantheon, temple dedicated to all the gods. The Pantheon of Rome is the best-preserved major edifice of ancient Rome and one of the most significant buildings in architectural history. In shape it is an immense cylinder concealing eight piers, topped with a dome and fronted by a rectangular colonnaded porch. The great vaulted dome is 43.2 m (142 ft) in diameter, and the entire structure is lighted through one aperture, called an oculus, in the center of the dome. The Pantheon was erected by the Roman emperor Hadrian between AD 118 and 128, replacing a smaller temple built by the statesman Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa in 27 BC. In the early 7th century it was consecrated as a church, Santa Maria ad Martyres, to which act it owes its survival (see Architecture). The term pantheon also refers to a building that serves as a mausoleum or memorial for eminent personages of a country. The most famous example is the Church of Sainte Genevi?ve in Paris, designed (1764) in the classical style by the French architect Jacques Germain Soufflot. It was later secularized, renamed the Pantheon, and used as a temple to honor the great of France. Built in Rome, AD c.118-28, in the reign of Emperor Hadrian, the Pantheon is the best preserved and most impressive of all Roman buildings. It has exerted an enormous influence on all subsequent Western architecture. The Pantheon asserts the primacy of space as contained volume over structure in the most dramatic fashion. From the time of the Pantheon onward, Roman architecture was to be one of spatial volumes. The Pantheon was designed and built by Hadrian to replace an earlier temple established by Agrippa (the misleading inscription in the entrance frieze refers to this earlier edifice). The existing structure is an immense round temple covered by a single dome, fronted by a transitional block and a traditional temple portico of eight Corinthian columns carrying a triangular pediment. Originally, the awkward juxtaposition of these three sections was softened by a rectangular forum in front of the temple. The temple is deceptively simple in appearance, consisting of a circular drum carrying a hemispherical dome with an inside diameter of 43.2 m (142 ft). The proportions are such that, if extended to the floor, the curve of the inner surface of the dome would just "kiss" the floor; thus, a perfect sphere is contained, a symbolic reference to the temple's dedication to all the gods--pan ("all") plus theos ("god")--in the sphere of the heavens. The drum and dome are of solid monolithic concrete, reinforced with bands of vitrified tile. The vertical gravity loads are collected and distributed to the drum by relieving arches incorporated in the concrete. The wall of the drum, 6.1 m (20 ft) thick, is hollowed out by a series of alternately rectangular and curved niches or recesses. Thus, the drum is transformed into a series of massive radial buttresses, lessening its deadweight without decreasing its strength. The weight of the upper sections, and thus the magnitude of the thrusts, was reduced by varying the density of the filler in the concrete, from pumice in the upper dome to tufa in the middle sections and dense basalt in the foundations. The visually compressive effect of the dome on the inside is lessened by deep coffers (indentations) radiating down from the central oculus ("eye")--9.1 m (30 ft) in diameter--the only window in the building. Because the oculus is open to the sky, the floor is slightly concave with a drain at the center. The building was converted into a church dedicated to Mary (Santa Maria Rotunda) in 609, and therefore it escaped destruction. It is the only Roman building to retain its marble revetments, mosaics, and stuccowork. The huge bronze doors (7 m/24 ft high) are the largest Roman doors to survive in place and remain in use. Leland M. Roth Bibliography: Boethius, Axel, and Ward-Perkins, J. B., Etruscan and Roman Architecture (1970); MacDonald, William L., The Pantheon (1976); Ward-Perkins, J.B., Roman Imperial Architecture (1981).

The Asch Conformity Experiments and Social Pressure

The Asch Conformity Experiments and Social Pressure The Asch Conformity Experiments, conducted by psychologist Solomon Asch in the 1950s, demonstrated the power of conformity in groups and showed that even simple objective facts cannot withstand the distorting pressure of group influence. The Experiment In the experiments, groups of male university students were asked to participate in a perception test. In reality, all but one of the participants were confederates (collaborators with the experimenter who only pretended to be participants). The study was about how the remaining student would react to the behavior of the other participants. The participants of the experiment (the subject as well as the confederates) were seated in a classroom and were presented with a card with a simple vertical black line drawn on it. Then, they were given a second card with three lines of varying length labeled A, B, and C. One line on the second card was the same length as that on the first, and the other two lines were obviously longer and shorter. Participants were asked to state out loud in front of each other which line, A, B, or C, matched the length of the line on the first card. In each experimental case, the confederates answered first, and the real participant was seated so that he would answer last. In some cases, the confederates answered correctly, while in others, the answered incorrectly. Aschs goal was to see if the real participant would be pressured to answer incorrectly in the instances when the Confederates did so, or whether their belief in their own perception and correctness would outweigh the social pressure provided by the responses of the other group members. Results Asch found that one-third of real participants gave the same wrong answers as the Confederates at least half the time. Forty percent gave some wrong answers, and only one-fourth gave correct answers in defiance of the pressure to conform to the wrong answers provided by the group. In interviews he conducted following the trials, Asch found that those that answered incorrectly, in conformance with the group, believed that the answers given by the Confederates were correct, some thought that they were suffering a lapse in perception for originally thinking an answer that differed from the group, while others admitted that they knew that they had the correct answer, but conformed to the incorrect answer because they didnt want to break from the majority. The Asch experiments have been repeated many times over the years with students and non-students, old and young, and in groups of different sizes and different settings. The results are consistently the same with one-third to one-half of the participants making a judgment contrary to fact, yet in conformity with the group, demonstrating the strong power of social influences. Connection to Sociology The results of Aschs experiment resonate with what we know to be true about the nature of social forces and norms in our lives. The behavior and expectations of others shape how we think and act on a daily basis because what we observe among others teaches us what is normal, and expected of us. The results of the study also raise interesting questions and concerns about how knowledge is constructed and disseminated, and how we can address social problems that stem from conformity, among others. Updated  by Nicki Lisa Cole, Ph.D.

How to Control Japanese Beetles

How to Control Japanese Beetles Japanese beetles do twice the damage of ordinary insect pests. The larvae, called grubs, live in the soil and feed on the roots of grasses and other plants. The adult beetles feed on the leaves and flowers of over 300 trees, shrubs, and herbs. Japanese beetles are the bane of the rose garden and will devour prized hibiscus and hollyhocks, too. Control of Japanese beetles requires an understanding of their life cycle and a two-pronged attack- one strategy for the grubs, and one for the beetles. The Japanese Beetle Life Cycle To control Japanese beetles effectively, its important to know when theyre active. Using a pest control product at the wrong time of the pests life cycle is a waste of time and money. So first, a quick primer on the Japanese beetle life cycle. Spring:  Mature beetle grubs become active, feeding on turfgrass roots and damaging lawns. They will continue feeding until early summer.Summer:  Adult beetles begin to emerge, usually in late June, and remain active throughout the summer. Japanese beetles will feed on garden plants, doing considerable damage when present in large numbers. During the summer, the beetles also mate. Females excavate soil cavities and deposit their eggs by late summer.Fall:  Young grubs hatch in late summer, and feed on grass roots through the fall. Mature grubs become inactive as cold weather approaches.Winter:  Mature grubs spend the winter months in the soil. How to Control Japanese Beetle Grubs Biological Control: Lawn areas can be treated with an application of milky disease spores, spores of the bacterium Paenibacillus  popilliae  (aka  Bacillus  popillae). The grubs ingest these bacterial spores, which germinate and reproduce within the grubs body and ultimately kill it. Over several years time, the milky spore bacteria builds up in the soil and acts to suppress grub infestations. No chemical pesticides should be used on the lawn simultaneously, as this can affect the milky spores efficacy. Another naturally-occurring bacteria, Bacillus thuringiensis japonensis (BTJ) may also be used to control Japanese beetle grubs. BTJ is applied to the soil, and grubs ingest it. Btj destroys the grubs digestive system and ultimately kills the larva. A beneficial nematode, Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, also works to control Japanese beetle grubs. Nematodes are microscopic parasitic roundworms that transport and feed on bacteria. When they find a grub, the nematodes penetrate the larva and inoculate it with bacteria, which quickly multiply within the grubs body. The nematode then feeds on the bacteria. Chemical Control: Some chemical pesticides are registered for control of Japanese beetle grubs. These pesticides should be applied in July or August when young grubs are feeding. Consult a pest control expert or your local agricultural extension office for specific information on selecting and using pesticides for grub control. How to Control Japanese Beetle Adults Physical Control: Where there is one Japanese beetle, there will soon be ten, so hand picking the earliest arrivals can help keep numbers down significantly. In the early morning, beetles are sluggish and can be shaken from branches into a bucket of soapy water. If Japanese beetle populations are high in your area, beetle control may include making smart decisions about what to plant in your yard. Japanese beetles love roses, grapes, lindens, sassafras, Japanese maple, and purple-leaf plums, so these plants should be avoided if Japanese beetle damage is a concern. Garden centers and hardware stores sell pheromone traps for Japanese beetles. Research shows these traps are generally ineffective for use in the home garden, and may actually attract more beetles to your plants. Chemical Control: Some chemical pesticides are registered for control of Japanese beetle adults. These pesticides are applied to the foliage of susceptible plants. Consult a pest control expert or your local agricultural extension office for specific information on selecting and using pesticides for Japanese beetle adult control.

Frederick Douglass Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Frederick Douglass - Research Paper Example Some others are of the view that his autobiographies and speeches were like his audacious attempts to publicly declare his renegade status. Regarding his personal life, one can see that he was born in a slave cabin, in February, 1818, near the town of Easton, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland (A Short Biography of Frederick Douglass). He was separated from his mother from the very tender age itself and was under the care of his grandparents. Like many other slaves during his time, he was also taken to a plantation master by his grandmother who left him to work there. Though he was betrayed, unlike the other slave children, he was lucky enough to learn the alphabet with the help of his mistress. This kindled his life that he sharpened his knowledge in every possible ways and used his words as the powerful weapon to retaliate against the forces that suppressed the black community for a long time. Reading through Douglass’ chronology, it is understood that as a slave, during his life-time, he had to undergo various kind of physical and mental torture. Those bitter experiences and certain other factors like the ‘horrifying conditions that plagued slaves during the 270 years of legalized slavery in America’ (A Short Biography of Frederick Douglass), provided him the energy to pursue his studies earnestly and secretly. He conducted classes secretly for slaves which in turn caused for the displeasure of plantation owners and were often severely punished. Some of the notable occurrences of his life include his escape to New York in 1838, publishing of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass in 1841, meeting with Lincoln to discuss the treatment of the black soldiers during civil war in 1863, becoming of U.S. Marshall in 1877 and the posting to the position of American consul-general to Haiti (Chronology). Douglass passed away on 20th February 1895 in

Wong Sun v. United States & Nardone v. United States Case Study

Wong Sun v. United States & Nardone v. United States - Case Study Example The fifth amendment for example under the grand jury clause requires the states to try felonies only after indictment by grand juries. As such, the process requires effective collection of evidence and witness accounts (Friedman, 1993). In the case, the prosecutor use evidence and witness statements he collected illegally by forcing the second petitioner to make the statements in his bedroom. Additionally, the sixth amendment of the American constitution incorporated the value of human rights in judicial processes by explaining that under notice of accusation, an indictment must claim all the features of the crime. The significance of the case was that it set precedence by refusing the use of illegally acquired evidence. The use of fruits of the poisonous tree, which refers to illegally acquired evidence as was in the case above, contributes to breaches on the rights of the people (Helmholz, 1997). Holding: The court ruled that the evidence were in deed inadmissible owing to the clandestine nature of their collection. The plaintiff proved that the wiretapping was both unlawful and breached on his basic human rights. Reasoning: Privacy is a fundamental feature of personal freedom. The American bill of rights safeguards the basic rights and freedoms of the citizenry. The Fifth Amendment for example provides effective ways that ensure that people do not incriminate themselves. Such rights as the Miranda rights are vital in making sure that a suspect considers his words with the view to protecting himself (American Bar Association, 2001). The provision of the Fifth Amendment thus makes the wiretapping on the plaintiff’s phone unlawful. The process did not only breach the plaintiff’s privacy but also made hi incriminate himself. According to the Fifth Amendment, incriminating of oneself refers to any process that makes one expose himself or herself to a charge. Just as was the case in Wong Sun v. United States, this case presented a similar opportunity in

Philosophy Notes on Kant Essay Example for Free

Philosophy Notes on Kant Essay Morality is entirely determined by what someone wills because a good will is the only thing that is good with out provocations. Every other character trait is only morally good once we qualify it as such. Kant morality is all about what someone wills and not about the end result or consequence is. Someone can be happy but for immoral reasons. Kant it is really the thought that counts. Motivation is everything. What does Bentham and Mills look at consequences and happiness. Kant thinks of these things as matter of riddle in the game of morality. Think of it this way. If we think of someone as our favorite moral hero in past and present because of the various things they did, accomplish, brought about. All you are doing when you admire such people is judging results. What we see. But if we are really judging moral worth on what we see we are then failing to adjudicate moral worth entirely. After all we have no idea what the shop clerks real motives are. Perhaps she is honest because she thinks this is the best way to make money. If this wasn’t her true motivation she may start ripping people off as soon as she could. Think back to what glaucon says. He says it is better to appear to be moral than to really be moral. Kant believes this is a much more comman way of going aobut things that it probably happens most of the time given that many people don’t have moral motivations that we really have no way of knowing what peopole’ motivations are. Perhaps Abraham Lincoln and MLK motivations were not stemmed form good will at all but only for honor, fame or fortune. We simply don’t know. Remember there are many people who were unlucky failed to bring any results even thought they hated good will or moral principles. They are forever unknown they are forever anonymous. He says we should stick to what pure reason tells and tells us it doesn’t care about consequences, doesn’t care about actions, doesn’t care about results. It cares about motivation. We can never tell anyone’s motivation just from look at them. Kant argues that if we look around the natural world that by in large things seem to fill their end for what they are designed for. Cheetahs usually have four legs and are good at catching prey. By and large, natural entities fulfill their designed purpose. Eyeballs are designed to see and usually do. Sure they eventually pucker out but for most part our eyes work how they were designed to function. But if we look at this larger thing called the human person and then assumed he was designed for happiness in the same way a cheetah was designed to run and catch prey and the eyes were designed to see we can conclude that the design of the human person were wrong. We can’t be designed for the purpose of being happy because if we were we would be a strange anomaly of nature. But why do we say this because we are species. We are a species that is defined by pain and suffering and anxiety and depression that results in misery. We are sad, miserable and pathetic. Unfortunately, argues Kant, we aren’t designed to be happy. The purpose of life isn’t to be happy! It is to be moral. Instead we are designed to be moral. Happiness may forever be out of reach but that’s ok because that is not the purpose of being human. The purpose of being human is to be moral and happiness may not have anything to do with each other. Kant’s theory is seen as deontological because it is all about duty. Kant argues that to be moral we have to consider duty compared to what we might want to do based on our emotions and inclinations. The name of the game is DUTY. We must be motivated by duty in order to be moral. Ex: if we only help out in a soup kitchen only because it makes us feel good then we aren’t properly moral. If happiness is your only motivation because once you stop feeling good about it you will quit working in the soup kitchen. You will burn out fast. Emotions can’t motivate. They can accompany but can’t motivate it. You can’t be motivated by sentiments or emotions. They aren’t moral or immoral. They are just†¦there. We can’t help them. In other words we are motivated to help because it’s your duty and you also like to help then that is all fine and good. Consider your enjoyment a nice bonus but a bonus that is entirely outside of the moral realm. Again difference on one hand being motivated by duty whilst liking it all the while and on the other hand being motivated only because you like it is this. If you are motivated by an emotion than once you cease having that emotion you will quit. The man who works in the soup kitchen only because it makes him feel good will immediately quit because he wants to feel good about it. It won’t take him long because it will be really stressful because it’s really smelly work. You have to deal with smelly people. If someone says if your heart isn’t in it then it is not worth doing. Kant would say this is total rubbish. You have no control over whether your heart will be in it or not. Do it because it is your duty. You only do it because of your rational or rationality. Morality is based on duty and that’s it. So how do figure out what duty is. Kant says we figure out to be what means to be the dutiful person by considering the act from pure reason alone and to get rid of emotion and sentiment. Duty stems from pure reason. Acting from sentiment and emotion is not properly rational. Kant wants to figure out what it means to be a rational, moral person. He does this by considering what pure reason is and pure reason is an aspect of the human person that is not particular to emotions or passions, or pathology or hormones or sentiments. For Kant, rationality is something that is much more pure. Something entirely bound up with nothing biological. Nothing evolutionary. Nothing emotional. Nothing empathetic. Kant would have been very much at home with the idea of the intergalactic senate. Lots of different sorts of biological beings with various physical attributes but all sharing in the same transcendental rationality attached to their particular alien biology. He would have been much more in line with Spocs decision making than captain kirk. Kant is spac. Most of us acting on emotion like Captain Kirk aren’t being truly ration and therefore aren’t truly being moral at least as far as Kant is concerned. To do the moral thing is to do that thing which is based on duty. We determine what our duty on what maxims can be universalized with out contradiction. We consider our duty via pure rationality and pure rationality tells us that one only acts morally if their actions are universalizable. Kant it is important to consider morality this way because this way we can make morality certain and self-evident. To say we act on a universalizable maxim is to say that a immoral action is precisely that action with is based on a maxim that can not be universalized with out contradiction. Thus, the reason you cannot steal is because to base ones action on stealing you would have to have one maxim that steal if you cannot afford to pay. But this creates a situation that cannot be universalized. If everyone stole if they cannot afford to pay then there would be no such thing as theft. This would destroy the very concept of legitimate theft. You would destroy the very concept of property and ownership making theft impossible. . You can only make sense of stealing most people don’t steal most of the time. Thus to act immorally is to count on everyone else or most of everyone else to follow a certain role precisely in order for you to get away with not following that rule. What holds for stealing also holds for lying. You can only get away with lying if most people don’t lie most of the time. To universalize lying would destroy the possibility of being able to tell a lie. Kant differentiates imperative based and hypotheses and imperatives that are categorical or come from pure reason. Hypothetical imperatives and categorical imperatives. Kant says that all imperatives are based on hypotheses that are not properly moral. That is that no action that is based on hypothesis that a certain thing will come about if a action is done can be properly be called a moral action. Thus for example if I base my example that I base my hypothesese that my action will result in a certain pleasure or emotion than it isn’t properly moral. Morality is not a means end rational thing in this way. It can’t be. Hypothetical imperatives. Precisely because it is only a hypothesis, we do not KNOW with certainty that a certain action will bring about a certain consequence. Morality must be based on some certain principles and all means are based on hypothesis. We think or hypothesize that doing a certain action will give us pleasure or happyness. Utilitarians act on a hypothetical imperative and this is because utilitarians are trying to get good consequences. The problem with this theory, says Kant, is that you are trying to bring about something that you might not have the foggiest clue how to bring about. Morality by contrast, says Kant, can’t be based on knowledge that you might not have. We don’t know for sure how to bring about happiness. We think we know if we pass a policy that it will bring about more jobs to stimulate the economy but we don’t know that for sure. Morality can’t be an experiment. It must be based on a set of principles or as Kant calls it the categorical imperative. That action which is at the same time is able to be a universal law. Categorical imperatives are based on the certainty that only pure reason gives us. Only categorical imperatives can bring us true morality. This stuff about law is important. In his theory everyone is a legislature of moral law. We are all moral legislature. Remember that Kant does not think we can discover facts out there in nature or by meditating on the forms like Plato thinks. He actually disagrees with Plato and Aristotle and agrees with the Utilitarians on this point where as these ancient thinkers say we discover moral facts on the nature of the good. Kant argues that we construct moral law from a rightly working from pure rationality like they did in the intergalactic senate. As rational agents we have the ability to construct moral law. We do not discover moral law. It is not part of the world. We create moral law, based on the logic of pure reason. Literally make it. But just because it is subjectively constructed doesn’t mean morality can’t be objective. If moral principles are based on categorical imperatives from maxims then the constructive moral laws are the same time objective. He concedes that morality is intersubjectively objective. That’s the name of the game to create laws that are intersujectively subjective. Even though morality is constructed, it is still objective. This is because you can only legislate—or create—morality one way: the way given to you by pure reason.

Religious Discrimination Essay -- Religion Discrimination Discriminati

Religious Discrimination Table of Contents 1. Introduction  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1 2. Definitions  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2 2.1 Religious Belief  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2 2.2 Religious Discrimination  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3 3. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3 3.1 Prohibitions  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3 3.2 Accommodations and Undue Hardship  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4 3.3 Who is Subject to the Provisions under Title VII?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  5 4. How to Handle Religious Discrimination in the Workplace  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  6 4.1 Preventive Measures  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  6 4.2 Filing a Charge  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  8 5. Cloutier v. Costco Wholesale  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  9 6. Religious Discrimination after September 11, 2001  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  12 7. Summary and Conclusion  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  13 7.1 Summary  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  13 7.2 Conclusion  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  15 1. Introduction Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against applicants and employees because of their race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Religious Discrimination as part of the Civil Rights Act is the subject of this term paper. Initially, I will give a brief definition of â€Å"religious belief† and â€Å"religious discrimination† and write afterwards about prohibitions regarding religious discrimination, reasonably accommodation of religious beliefs and practices, undue hardship, and about the question â€Å"Who is subject to the provisions under Title VII?†. Furthermore, I will enter into the question how employers and employees should handle religious discrimination in the workplace. Since discrimination in the workplace cannot only cause costly lawsuits, but also has an impact on the moral of the employees, I will name some preventive measures. After that, I will switch to the employee’s view and give the reader an idea of what an employee should consider when filing a charge because of religious discrimination. Then, I will present the case Cloutier v. Costco Wholesale, which shall illustrate how everything fits together – from the broad definition of religion to the handling of a filed charge. According to statistics of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and state and local fair employment practices agencies, the number of charges alleging workplace discrimination based on religion or national origin has been significantly increased after September 11, 2001. Therefore, I will deal in this term paper with the influence of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on religious discrimination in the workplace. Finally, I... ...pportunity Commission. (2002, June). Facts About Religious Discrimination. Retrieved from: http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/fs-relig.html The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (1997, June). Filing a Charge. Retrieved from: http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/howtofil.html The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2002, May). QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE WORKPLACE RIGHTS OF MUSLIMS, ARABS, SOUTH ASIANS, AND SIKHS UNDER THE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY LAWS. Retrieved from: http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/backlash-employee.html The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2004, November). Religious Discrimination. Retrieved from: http://www.eeoc.gov/types/religion.html The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (1997, January). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Retrieved from: http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/vii.html Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP. (2002, October). Religious discrimination – Accommodating differences in the workplace. Retrieved from: http://www.vssp.com/CM/Articles/articles871.asp workindex. (2004, November). Ten Tips For Avoiding Religious Discrimination. Retrieved from: http://www.workindex.com/editorial/hre/hre0411-05.asp

Black People and Prejudice Essay

â€Å"Ahhhhhhhh! † I squealed and jumped for joy the moment I dropped the phone. I hurrily scurried over to my mom to share the news. â€Å"Mommy, I got my first job! † This was the stepping stone to me being an independent young woman. I was officially employed at Hollister Co. as a sales model. I was ecstatic and excited to make some money at the tender age of 15. My first week was definitely a learning experience; from learning how to maintain a cash registrar to folding tons of polos and jeans. Soon through this journey, it started to become bittersweet. With three months of being employed, my shifts were diminishing from 4 shifts a week to 1 shift a week. As I looked at the schedule postings for the week, I noticed a trend with the scheduling of the shifts. Ironically, most of the employees that were working more hours and more shifts were white females. I figured it might have something to do with the fact that my supervisor is a white surfer-boy who is infatuated with beach-blonde beauties. However that did not stop me from asking him to put me on the schedule more. Sadly, I resent the day I had asked him. Unfortunately, he felt that I didn’t have the â€Å"natural beachy look† that Hollister Co. was trying to perceive. I am of Malaysian decent and have tan skin color. Hearing that definitely bruised my ego and made me self-conscious about my appearance. I felt this was a tactic for me to quit, and so I did. Over the months I begin to realize that ultimately there will be people in the world that have a perspective of life that I cannot seem to change. I had realized that this was not my fault; it was his own personal judgment that led him to think that. I was treated this way because of how I looked not on who I am. Many people have tried to explain the reasoning of why people are prejudiced and discriminate against one another. Two readings that are eye-openers about prejudice are â€Å"Causes of Prejudice† and â€Å"C. P. Ellis. † In the essay, â€Å"Causes of Prejudice,† the author Vincent N. Parrillo explains the reasons for racism and discrimination in the United States. Which brings us to Studs Terkel’s essay â€Å"C. P. Ellis,† he tells us the story of C. P. Ellis, a former Klansmen who claims he is no longer racist. With Parrillo’s essay, we will analyze what caused C. P. Ellis to be prejudice and how he changed. Parrillo’s Causes of Prejudice outlines reasons how and why prejudice exists in today’s society. Parrillo first starts out telling us that prejudice is the rejection of a member of a certain culture, and that ethnocentrism is a rejection of all culture as a whole. He then states that there are four areas of study to consider when dealing with prejudice; levels of prejudice, self-justification, personality, and frustration. This theory is ideal to the root of why and where prejudice starts. He explains that the first level of prejudice is the cognitive level of prejudice. This is a person’s beliefs of a culture. The second level is the emotional level of prejudice. This level includes what kind of emotional response a culture has on a person. These emotions for example can be that of hate, love, fear, etc†¦ The final level, explains Parrillo, is the action oriented level. This is the desire to physically act upon their prejudice feelings toward the person or culture. As stated in the text, â€Å"The emotional level of prejudice encompasses the feelings that a minority group arouses in an individual. Although these feelings may be based on stereotypes from the cognitive level they represent more intense stages of personal involvement† (Parrillo 386). His statement holds true. In the sense of economic competition prejudice occurs frequently. We need to realize that jealousy is an important factor of prejudice. There would still be competitions, hatred, and stereotyping. It is just in our human nature. The story of C. P Ellis begins as he discusses his life as being a white male from a low-income class. His frustrations and misfortunes lead him to become a member of the Ku Klux Klan. His father always told Ellis to stay away from blacks, Jews, and Catholics’ and he obeyed his father’s wishes. In a sense, it seemed as if Ellis truly admired his father. At 17 years old, his father soon passed away and Ellis was forced to work to tend to his family. Ellis discusses his frustrations on having to make ends meet with four children, the eldest being mentally challenged and the struggles he has to endure to make it happen. Ellis begins to blame the black people for his tragedy and his misfortune of not being able to have sufficient funds. In relevance to Parrillo’s essay, he explains that â€Å"frustrations tend to increase aggression toward others† (Parrillo 393). This ties into the anger that Ellis began to direct it towards as he stated, â€Å"I didn’t know who to blame. I tried to find somebody. I began to blame it on black people. I had to hate somebody† (Terkel 400). Ellis believed that blaming others rather than himself was the best way to get over his frustrations. We are then exploited to the self esteem Ellis had and his state of mind when starting his racist rampage. To begin with, Ellis shows throughout the essay that he is weak minded and has very low self-esteem. Ellis states, â€Å"The majority of ‘em are low income whites, people who really don’t have a part in something. They have been shut out as well as the blacks†¦ So the natural person to hate would the black person† (Terkel 401). Ellis started to hate the fact that he was poor and turned to the KKK. He felt the KKK opened opportunities he could achieve because of the stability and members of the group. Parrillo states that â€Å"self-justification† is lead to believe the main cause of prejudice. He states â€Å"a person may avoid social contact with groups deemed inferior and associate only with those identified as being of high status† (Parrillo 387). We can identify the behaviors and personality Ellis displays is relevant to the same behaviors and personality of his father. Throughout the story, Ellis directed his hatred towards blacks just like his father did. Ellis states â€Å"The natural person for me to hate would be black people, because my father before me was a member of the Klan. As far as he was concerned, it was the savior of the white people† (Terkel 400). We can recognize that his racist ways came from his father who told him what to believe. We can identify this as the â€Å"socialization† factor of prejudice. When one is taught something which they live by all their life they begin to play a role just as the one who taught them those ways. Parrillo elaborates, â€Å"We thus learn the prejudices of our parents and others, which then become part of our values and beliefs. Even when based on false stereotypes, prejudices shape our perceptions of various peoples and influence our attitudes and actions toward particular groups† (Parrillo 394). We can make the connection that Ellis’s father was racist he gained his father’s characteristics as well as his beliefs. This also ties in when he begins to blame black people because he was taught they were the cause of the economic problems he was facing. Ellis states â€Å"If we didn’t have niggers in the schools, we wouldn’t have the problems we got today† (Terkel 402). Here he did not truly experience what he believed but he was told this and began to live by it, which was passed down by his father. Over the time, Ellis and his views about the blacks changed altogether. In the end, Ellis has an epiphany once he realized how much in common he really had with blacks. He soon began to realize that black people were just as normal and looking for the same thing in life. He tells us what he realized later in his life â€Å"As long as they kept low-income whites and low-income blacks fightin’, they’re gonna maintain control† (Terkel 403). The revelation is going to change his life. He refers to they as being the politicians and government. He began to have his own mind set and realize that all are alike and should not be treated differently. Some white people had just as low incomes as some black people, which led him to realize that they were all at the same level. There is no explanation as to why Ellis really decided to all of a sudden change his views. We can relate this to Parrillo’s statement, â€Å"Although socialization explains how prejudicial attitudes may be transmitted from one generation to the next, it does not explain their origin or why they intensify or diminish over the years† (Terkel 394). In conclusion, both Parrillo’s essay and Ellis’s story go hand in hand in showing us the real reason why prejudice and racism still exists today. Vincent Parrillo exemplifies valid points and key notions on why cause a person to be prejudice and racist. C. P Ellis provides an insightful eye and truly gives us hope that maybe people will change their views over the years. Both showed us that prejudice is a prime factor in this society and this is because everyone was born and raised differently. Everyone has their own beliefs and ideas. Value, attitudes, beliefs and culture all are targets of prejudice. Regardless of anything, we will never be able to change that. People just try to persevere to the stereotyping and criticizing of other races and their own. Works Cited Parrillo, Vincent N. â€Å"‘Causes of Prejudice. † Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. Ed. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford St. Martin’s, 2010. 384-398. Terkel, Studs. â€Å"C. P Ellis. † Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. Ed. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford St. Martin’s, 2010. 398-408. Self-Editing Checklist: 1. Do you have a sufficient number of quoted passages from theoretical essay you have chosen and have you commented sufficiently on each? List the page numbers of the passages below. Page 386 Page 387 Page 393 Page 394 2. Do you have a sufficient number of quoted passages from personal essay you have chosen and have you commented sufficiently on each? List the page numbers of the passages below. Page 400 Page 401 Page 402 Page 403 3. Explain the order in which you chose to make your points via the passages you quoted. Studs Terkel then Vincent Parrillo? Page 386 ? Page 393 ? Page 400 ? Page 401 ? Page 387 ? Page 400 ? Page 394 ? Page 402 ? Page 403 ? Page 394 4. Name three writing errors you are likely to make in your prose and check the rough draft for these. Use the OWL website if necessary to look for examples of how to address these problems. List the likely errors below. Alternating long and short sentences. 5. Read your final draft of the essay aloud so that you do not allow your eyes you’re your brain to self-correct the errors in your essay. List the kinds of errors you found below. Spelling, grammar, punctuation.

Very Good

Computer Architecture and Assembly Language – Midterm 2011 1. In instruction ADC the operands can be oTwo register only oTwo register and one memory location oCF and two other operands oZF and two other operands 2. After the execution of instruction â€Å"RET† oSP is incremented by 2 oSP is decremented by 2 oSP is incremented by 1 oSP is decremented by 1 3. The extended ASCII has o64 characters o128 characters o256 characters o502 characters 4. The second byte in the word designated for screen location holds oThe dimension of the screen oCharacter position on the screen Character color on the screen oACSII code of the character 5. REP will always oIncremented CX by 1 oIncremented CX by 2 oDecremented CX by 1 oDecremented CX by 2 6. The routine that executes in response to an INT instruction is called oISR oIRS oISP oIRT 7. The iAPX888 architecture consists of _______ register. o12 o14 o16 o18 8. In the instruction â€Å"CMP AX,BX† the contents of oAX are changed oBX are changed not conformed oCX are changed oFlag register are changed 9. All the addressing mechanisms iniAPX88 return a number called ______ address. oeffective ofaulty oindirect odirect 10.The execution of the instruction â€Å"mov word [ES: DI], 0x0720† owill clear next character on screen owill print â€Å"20† at top left of the screen owill print â€Å"20† at top right of the screen owill move DI at location 0720 on the screen 11. â€Å"mov byte [num1],5† is _______ instruction. olegal oillegal ostack based omemory indirect 12. MOV instruction transfers a byte or word from which of the following source location. oDS:DI oES:SI oES:DI oDS:SI 13. The execution of the instruction â€Å"mov word [ES: 0], 0x0741† will print â€Å"A† on the screen, color of the character will be oBlack oWhite oRed oBlue 14.If AX contains FFFFh, then after execution of instruction â€Å"SAL ax, 3†, the result will be o-3 o+3 o-8 o+8 15. If the decimal number â€Å"35† is shifted by two bit to left, the new value will be o35 o70 o140 o17 16. While using STOBS, if DF=1 then oThe value of SI will be incremented by one oThe value of SI will be incremented by two oThe value of SI will be decremented by one oThe value of SI will be decremented by two 17. After the execution of STOSW, the CX will be oDecremented by 1 oDecremented by 2 oIncremented by 1 oIncremented by 2 18. The memory address always move from oprocessor to memory memory to processor omemory to peripheral operipheral to processor 19. An offset alone is not complete without osegment ocode label oindex register odata label 20. Code Segment is associated to _______ register by default. oIP oSS oBP oCX 21. Write down the procedure to clear the selective bit. (Marks: 2) 22. Why REP prefix is generally not used with LODS instruction? (Marks: 2) 23. What is difference between REPE and REPNE? (Marks: 3) 24. Describe Push and Pop with the help of an example. (Marks: 3) 25 . Explain all characteristics of SCAS instruction. (Marks: 5) 26. Describe Local Variable? (Marks: 5)

Robotics Assessment

Robotics Assessment Definition of a robotThefreedictionary.comNounRo-bot1. A mechanical device that sometimes resembles a human and is capable of performing a variety of often complex human tasks on command or by being programmed in advance.2. A machine or device that operates automatically or by remote control.3. A person who works mechanically without original thought, especially one who responds automatically to the commands of others.Brief history of robotsThe word 'robot' originates from a play called "R.U.R." (Rossum's Universal Robots) written by Karel Capek from Czechoslovakia in 1921. Being a Czech, Capek originally got the word from his language, in the form of 'robota' meaning forced labour. The word 'robotics' is a science fiction term, and was first used in a story called "Runaround" by Isaac Asimov in 1942.Ideas that resemble characteristics of robots in the modern world were first thought of in about 450BC. A Greek mathematician by the name of Archytas thought of "The Pigeon", a bird powe red by steam.Dr. Isaac Asimov, head-and-shoulders portrait, fac...Since then many people have tried to improve on the same ideas, and invented their own machines that need no or little human assistance, such as a clock or a toaster.The first impression of a human-like robot was inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci around 1495. He had planned ideas of a robotic knight that was able to move its arms, head, jaw and back.The Laws of RoboticsThe Laws of robotics were written by Isaac Asimov in his book Runaround in 1942. Originally there were only three laws, although later on he wrote a fourth law known as the Zeroth law.First Law: A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm, unless this would violate the Zeroth Law.Second Law: A robot must obey orders given...

Entendiendo la Forma Superlativa en Ingls

Entendiendo la Forma Superlativa en Ingls A continuacià ³n se muestra cà ³mo construir la forma superlativa en inglà ©s: Adjetivos de una Slaba Ponga un the antes del adjetivo y agregue -est al final deà ± adjetivo (Nota: duplique la consonante final si es precedida por una vocal) Ejemplos: cheap - the cheapest / hot - the hottest / high - the highest Ejemplos: Today is the hottest day of the summer.This book is the cheapest I can find. Adjetivos de Dos, Tres o Ms Slabas Ponga the most antes del adjetivo Ejemplos: interesting - the most interesting / difficult - the most difficult Ejemplos: London is the most expensive city in England.That is the most beautiful painting here. Adjetivos de Dos Slabas que Terminan en -y Ponga the antes del adjetivo, quite la y del adjetivo y aà ±ada iest. Ejemplos: happy - the happiest / funny - the funniest Ejemplos: New York is the noisiest city in the USA.He is the most important person I know. EXCEPCIONES IMPORTANTES Existen algunas excepciones importantes a estas reglas. A continuacià ³n hay dos de las excepciones ms importantes: Good good - adjectivethe best - superlative Ejemplos: Peter is the best golf player in the school.This is the best school in the city. Bad bad - adjectivethe worst - superlative Ejemplos: Jane is the worst student in the class.This is the worst day of my life. Pruebe su conocimiento con esta breve prueba.

Customer Service Lapses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Customer Service Lapses - Essay Example Throughout, the patient was alone, and no help was provided to her to clear her prescription at the pharmacy. c. There was the lack of staff in the clinic for patient care. Only one physician was present, who had to take care of the patients in urgent care as well as in family medicine. Follow-up Questions a. How was the experience of the patient with respect to care provided by a physician? b. Was the medical staff including nurses, etc. helpful in giving medical assistance? c. What problems did the patient face on the visit related to (time, fees, care, medicine etc.)? Future Actions a. Hire the required staff necessary to facilitate the number of patients visiting each day to the clinic. Separate doctors should be there for attending patients in family medicine and urgent care. b. The staff has to make sure that no patient has to wait for long hours. Every task should be performed on time and must be organized. c. Curtail the excessive documentation; keep the system simple, manage able and effective. PDCA: (ASQ 20) Plan: Improve documentation process, reduce waiting time and get new staff hired. Track the changes by taking feedback from patients. Do: Bring immediate changes by assisting patients and reduce the waiting time. Check: Check the patients’ response on forms for checking system efficiency.

Testifying as a Law Enforcement Professional Research Paper

Testifying as a Law Enforcement Professional - Research Paper Example The testimony of any investigator or professional should be confined to the scope of expertise of that person as demonstrated by experience, training and education. The extent of the experience, training and education needed to testify is determined by the legal authority in which the professional witness is testifying. It is also permissible for an investigator and professional to render an expert opinion (Kleinig and Zhang, 1993, p. 19). A testimony serves to prove a point or element of the case against a defendant. A professional witness or law enforcement officer should never underestimate their role in establishing a defendant’s guilt. Establishing a defendant’s guilt is based upon the strength and totality of the evidence presented. If the evidence is not convincing, then a jury or judge must acquit the defendant, but if powerful pieces of evidence are present, then it can lead to conviction of the defendant. Only witnesses having firsthand knowledge of the import ant facts of a case are allowed to testify at a trial. However, their testimony is restricted to their personal knowledge. This is what they personally know about the victim or defendant. Thus, a person who witnesses an accident and the first law enforcement officers to be at the scene have personal knowledge of the occurrence leading to the case and are likely to be summoned to testify about what they witnessed. A professional witness, on the other hand, gives a professional opinion on a case. Professional witnesses are involved in a case when technical, specialized or scientific knowledge is required to establish a fact that is controversial. A witness may be qualified as an expert by education, training, skill, experience, or knowledge. The witness may, therefore, testify basing his or her on the evidence he or she gathers (Kleinig and Zhang, 1993, p. 25). A law enforcement officer has a responsibility as a professional witness. The law enforcement officer has a crucial role in t he successful conviction of a criminal. Therefore, the officer must determine whether the evidence established is sufficient enough to proceed with a trial. It is the duty of the officer to make sure all relevant and appropriate evidence comes to light. The enforcement officer must fully record all visual, sensory and verbal observation, know what to listen and look for and be motivated to apply their skills and knowledge to aid him or her in succeeding in the trial. It is fundamental for a law enforcement officer to prepare as a professional witness before trial. The officer should recognize relevant and significant evidence and document it in field notes. The notes should be compiled, and a complete and accurate report should be written. Prior to the testimony, the officer should review the case file, mentally organizing the facts of the offense and evidence supporting it. The officer should also organize clearly and convincingly the testimony to be presented to the jury. Once the officer is notified of the trial date, the officer should review all reports and records. He should also compare notes with other officers, revisit the scene if required, discuss with the prosecutor the details of the testimony and the case, and make sure copies of all required documents by law in his or her jurisdiction have been given to the prosecutor (Kleinig and Zhang, 1993, p. 59). A law enforcement officer should dress professionally and neatly. Uniformed officers are preferred to wear their uniform. One should wear pants and a jacket if he or she is on civilian clothes. Flashlights, sunglasses and other cumbersome equipment should not be taken into the courtroom, unless they are needed for demonstration (Kleinig and Zhan

Theories on Motivation in Human Resource Management Assignment

Theories on Motivation in Human Resource Management - Assignment Example ory had been applied in US organizations and later exported to other regions of the world, it has lost its significance in the current global business environment. The theory is founded on mere assumptions rather than relevant facts or research. It is absurd to think that individuals would carry on moving toward growth and finally attain ‘self actualization’. If this theory can be relied, for ample workforce motivation the management has to identify the active needs of each employee. The theory flaws in the practical side as it is impossible to categorize employees based on their physiological and psychological requirements. The weakness of the theory is more prevalent in the case of multinational companies (MNCs) which are having the features of virtual organizations with broad pool of human. Although this theory had been applied in US organizations and later exported to other regions of the world, it has lost its significance in the current global business environment. The theory is founded on mere assumptions rather than relevant facts or research.

Two theories of motivation

Two theories of motivation Motivation is an intangible human asset which acts as a driver that pushes humans to be willing to perform certain actions. In just about everything we do there is something that moves us to perform the action which involves some motivation allowing us to perform tasks or actions which produces some type of personal benefit as a result. The general theory would be that, the greater the personal gain in performing the task for the individual, the more motivated they are to try at the task to achieve the best outcome. Motivation is usually stimulated by a want where there is a gain to be had as a result of performing a certain task. As Todes, McKinney, Ferguson, Jr. (1977) p.223 states, A person is a wanting being he always wants, and he wants more. Therefore if there is nothing that an individual wants, there would be no need for them to perform a certain task as there is nothing they can gain from it. Over time there have been many motivational theories developed to try and explore what motivation is and how different levels of motivation can be achieved with different inputs. Two of the most widely recognised motivational theories come from Abraham Maslow (hierarchy of needs) and Fredrick Herzberg (two factor theory). Managers in businesses would use these theories in an attempt to motivate staff to provide them with job satisfaction and in return receive better task performance. Through extensive research Maslow and Herzberg developed their own theories which are now used in businesses all around the world. Both differ in how they are applied but in the modern world they are seen as being totally true by many although they should be perceived as being an interesting problematic set of observations about what motivates people (Finchman Rhodes, 2005) p.199. This is due to the lack of evidence to say that they are completely true despite applying to the overall majority. Each is very similar in the way that there are certain requirements that must be fulfilled before high levels of motivation can be obtained. Abraham Maslow sets out a hierarchy of importance where human needs are arranged in a series of levels (Todes et al. 1977). Like Herzbergs two factor theory, the needs in Maslows hierarchy can be split into two levels. The first set being the basic needs, contain physiological and safety needs. The second set can be seen as the motivators consisting of social, esteem and self actualizing needs. In comparison to Herzberg, basic needs would be the equivalent of hygiene needs consisting of: salary, colleagues, supervision, policies and environment. Herzbergs second set (motivators) includes: recognition, promotion, achievement, responsibility and intrinsic job aspects, all of which are individually quite self-explanatory and fairly interlinked (Finchman Rhodes, 2005). As the structure of Maslows hierarchy suggests, the higher motivators are harder to achieve than the previous and there is an order to which they must be acquired. If the previous motivator has not been reasonably satisfi ed then there will be no desire to try and obtain the next. The physiological needs are reflected in the human need to eat, breathe, rest, drink and engage in active endeavors (Todes et al. 1977) p.244. These needs can be seen as essentials for survival making it logical to be place at the bottom of the hierarchy and as the lowest motivator (Todes et al. 1977). Safety needs come in the form of feeling secure in the job that you have which means that there is a requirement of: shelter, a strong feeling of job security and as Todes et al. (1977) states, a need for protection against physical dangers along with the need to earn a fair salary that can satisfy a given standard of living which is an element in Herzbergs list of hygiene factors. A manager would be able to fulfill the basic needs by giving suitable amount of time for breaks in which the physiological needs can be easily met. Safety would derive from supervision and policies of the company where they act as a guide, helping the employees progress giving them a feeling of being well supported. The environment that they work in would also help with employees feeling safe as long as there is the avoidance of physical dangers. Also there is the conflict of whether or not salary is a motivator. Managers may think that employees would work harder for a raise whereas others believe it is ineffective. Although necessary, hence it being placed in the hygiene factors and incorporated in the safety needs, it is not a motivator. The reason for this may be that although one receives more money for what they do, they will not necessarily work harder having acquired the raise. This therefore links salary to the motivator, promotion which would be the reason for why there is a sudden increase in an individuals income. The motivators, beginning with social needs, (Maslows third need which could be seen as being at the base of the motivational hierarchy) cannot be achieved unless the basic needs prior to it are in place and adequately satisfied. Social needs can be seen as the desire for interaction, acceptance and a sense of belonging with associates and personal acquaintances (Todes et al. 1977. With Herzberg, it can be argued that the social motivator is split between both the categorical factors contradicting Maslows perception of it. As the hygiene factors of colleagues and to an extent, supervision, fulfill the social need for interaction, the motivator recognition would lead to meeting the need for acceptance and belonging. Herzbergs motivator of recognition combined with promotion, responsibility and perhaps achievement would also be linked with Maslows fourth need, esteem. This, a more personal, perhaps egotistical need, is much harder for a manager to incorporate into the working environme nt due to the managerial trend of reducing most jobs to their lowest level of job content (Todes et al. 1977). Being noticed for good performance through praise and recognition, which could lead to the achievement of a promotion where responsibility is increased, can all be contributors towards fulfilling esteem but never effectively satisfying it entirely. Even if it does, it will only be temporarily and perhaps not enough for the peak need of self-actualisation to start being met. It therefore acts as a constant motivator to work harder or continue working to meet the higher needs (Finchman Rhodes 1977). Self-actualization is where an individual grows towards a firm understanding of their abilities and utilises these skills at an optimum level (McGregor. 1964). This final need however, is rarely met, hence it being at the top of the hierarchy as the idea of: as you progress up the hierarchy, the peak of each need that must be passed is higher than the need before it. Not only is this an important factor, there is also the requirement that the previous needs, although less dominant in focus, must remain active and acceptably satisfied before the next factor can be of any interest to the individual (Krech, Crutchfield Ballachey cited in Todes et al. 1977). Due to this and the general fact that self-esteem is satisfied in small quantities and not regularly, it does not make acquiring self-actualization an easy task due to the previously described theory rule. Although Herzbergs theory operates similarly, there is not as strict an order to follow as to whether a specific factor must be met before another one can become of any interest other than working on the basis that all hygiene factors must be adequately satisfied before any motivators can begin to be of any relevance to the individual. In this aspect the model is more lenient and due to not having a strict order of how they must be met, any factor within their respective categories can be acquired in any order making it easy and ready to be tested. Not only this but each factor is very much interlinked and compliments one another in the way that when one is achieved, other factors can be acquired in quick succession. Managers could then incorporate this into the way that tasks are delegated so that when an employee completes one task they obtain a certain amount of need satisfaction. On the next task performed, more needs could be fulfilled and unknowingly, employees would be progressing through the fulfillment of either Maslow or Herzbergs needs where they attain either more self-actualisation or job satisf action. What needs to be kept in mind is that although the two are very similar, Maslows hierarchy can be applied almost any situation with the aim of exploring psychological progression. Whereas Herzbergs theory outlines more of what factors must be in place before job satisfaction can be achieved relating more specifically to motivation and its impact within the work place (Finchman Rhodes. 2005). The intrinsic job aspects would be the closest motivator related to personal accomplishment as this need involves the employees feeling that through working they are benefitting and developing as an individual. This therefore means that a manager would need to try and identify which of the two theories they think would be most effective and achievable in developing employee motivation. Do they want their employees to acquire job satisfaction through Herzbergs motivators or to be self actualizing being more willing to work understanding themselves and what they are capable of. A combination of th e two could be possible in Maslows basic needs and Herzbergs hygiene factors but the acquisition of both does not necessarily mean that motivation or job satisfaction would be obtained, it just means that job dissatisfaction would be likely to develop without it (Finchman Rhodes 2005). Another point to remember is that not all individuals are the same in what they want hence the models not being universally accurate. A situation where either model would not be fully applicable is where one is happy with their current position and the tasks that they perform. As a result of the fulfillment of an unwanted need such as promotion, that particular employee may underperform as they have lost the job satisfaction they had prior to the acquisition of that motivational need. Whereas another who may have wanted such a need would be discouraged due to them not receiving the promotion and as a result de-motivated the employee. As mentioned, everyone is different in their levels of satisfaction and motivational priorities, some of which would be unknown to the individual. Even if known they may not know what to do to obtain them. From this a manager would have to find a way of being able to match the needs of people with appropriate incentives (Todes et al. 1977) p.165. Of course for a manager to fulfill all these needs they would have to be able to relate to the motivational needs of the employees beneath them and incorporate them into their strategy so that employees would be able to achieve them through the tasks they perform. As these motivational needs are met, employees may be more motivated to work and unknowingly develop other motivational needs that are fulfilled through the managers task setup. A very important factor for a manager to remember according to Finchman Rhodes (2005) p.266, is that the principle of behaviour that is rewarded tends to be repeated and that which is punished, avoided. From this, it can be seen that managers have a strong ability and in fluence on their employees behaviour. Therefore both motivational theories are not total opposites of each other but are in fact very similar. Both focus on the motivators as being contributors to psychological growth and development (Finchman Rhodes, 2005). Each has certain requirements which must be met before someone can progress onto achieving motivational needs, such as in Maslows case the basic needs and the hygiene needs in Herzbergs both are seen as being needed to be in place before there can be any progression onto the next set of motivators. This also expresses how both are similarly split into two groups. A big difference would be how Maslows theory can apply to any situation but Herzbergs is more applicable in the workplace and set out in a way that made it easy to prove correct, whereas it was more difficult with the former despite being taught as true (Finchman Rhodes, 2005). Managers could effectively incorporate the motivational techniques into developmental strategies by designing a work environment w here employees would be able to develop personally as they work, in turn they could unknowingly acquire motivation (Todes et al. 1977). This way employees would be more willing to perform their tasks and develop needs encouraging them to work harder, becoming more motivated to meet these new needs. But perhaps the most obvious and important similarity is that although they are taught as being true, a manager would need to keep in mind that they are not. Even though they apply to the majority, different people have different needs and levels of satisfaction therefore either model cannot be totally relied on for a manager to try motivate employees (McGregor. 1964). Reference List: Finchman. R Rhodes. P, Principles Of Organisational Behaviour, 2005 P.199, P.233 McGregor. D, The Professional Manager, 1964 P.11, P.75 Todes. J.L, Mckinney. J, Ferguson Jr. W, Management Motivation, 1977 P. 165, P. 223-227, P.244

A Separate Peace :: essays research papers

Sitting in my third grade classroom we chattered anxiously, waiting for the spelling quizzes to be passed back. My teacher placed them all facing down on our desks, a rather pointless effort when she was already aware that at any moment the room would burst into havoc with yells of "what did you get?", shouting numbers back and forth, and of course superior comments from the students proud of their marks. I quickly flipped mine over and grinned at the 8/10 scrawled in red marker near the top of the page. "What did you get?" sure enough my friend Jenny thrust me her paper. As I stared down at her 100% sitting aside a bright yellow smiley sticker I felt a familiar twinge of jealousy. From that day on I had a secret goal to achieve higher marks than my friend. I can not remember when this rivalry ended, but I do know that it is normal behavior. Each person feels rivalry or competition to other humans, for the majority of their lifetime. This rivalry greatly affects our ability to understand others, and this eventually results in war, discrimination, and enmity. Children are definitely culprits for acting inhumane to each other with teasing, competition, and often hurtful remarks. Although this is the way children often act, it is in the teenage years realization, along with careful thought and consideration, brings each individual to understand wider prospects of human nature; that people coldly drive ahead for themselves alone. Man’s inhumanity1 to man is a way for people to protect themselves from having pain inflicted on them by fellow humans, and achieving their goals and desires free from interference of others. The concept of man’s inhumanity to man is developed in John Knowles’ novel, A Separate Peace. The primary conflict in this novel centers on the main character, Gene, and his battling of jealousy, paranoia, and inability to understand his relationship with his best friend Phineas. Yet the larger battle of man’s inhumanity to man is portrayed by the backdrop of World War II. Gene Forrester is an average, studious, young man attending Devon school in New Hampshire during the second World War. His roommate at Devon, Phineas (otherwise known as Finny) sends Gene on an unexpected journey of self discovery. Finny represents man in his innocence, a kind of edenic2 Adam. He is very athletic, honest and trusting.

The Silver Linings Playbook Chapter 14

I Can Share Raisin Bran On the drive home from Cliff's office I ask my mom if she thinks asking Tiffany on a date is the best way to get rid of her once and for all, and Mom says, â€Å"You shouldn't be trying to get rid of anyone. You need friends, Pat. Everyone does.† I don't say anything in response. I'm afraid Mom is rooting for me to fall in love with Tiffany, because whenever she calls Tiffany my â€Å"friend,† she says the word with a smile on her face and a hopeful look in her eye, which bothers me tremendously because Mom is the only person in my family who does not hate Nikki. Also, I know Mom looks out the window when I go on my runs, because she will tease me, saying â€Å"I see your friend showed up again† when I return from a jog. Mom pulls into the driveway, shuts off the car engine, and says, â€Å"I can loan you money should you ever want to take your friend to dinner,† and again, the way she says â€Å"friend† makes me feel tingly in a bad way. I say nothing in response, and my mother does the strangest thing – she giggles. I finish my weight training for the day and put on a trash bag, and as I begin stretching on the front lawn, I see that Tiffany is jogging up and down the length of my parents' block, waiting for me to begin running. I tell myself to ask her out to dinner so I can end this madness and get back to being alone on my runs, but instead I simply start running, and Tiffany follows. I go past the high school, down Collings Avenue to the Black Horse Pike, make a left and then another left into Oaklyn, run down Kendall Boulevard to the Oaklyn Public School, up past the Manor Bar to the White Horse Pike, make a right and then a left onto Cuthbert, and I run into Westmont. When I get to the Crystal Lake Diner, I turn and jog in place. Tiffany jogs in place and stares at her feet. â€Å"Hey,† I say to her. â€Å"You want to have dinner with me at this diner?† â€Å"Tonight?† she says without looking up at me. â€Å"Yeah.† â€Å"What time?† â€Å"We have to walk here because I'm not allowed to drive.† â€Å"What time?† â€Å"I'll be in front of your house at seven-thirty.† Next, the most amazing thing happens: Tiffany simply jogs away from me, and I cannot believe I finally got her to leave me alone. I am so happy I alter my route and run at least fifteen miles instead of ten, and when the sun sets, the clouds in the west are all lined with electricity, which I know is a good omen. At home, I tell my mother I need some money so I can take Tiffany out to dinner. My mother tries to hide her smile as she retrieves her purse from the kitchen table. â€Å"Where are you taking her?† â€Å"The Crystal Lake Diner.† â€Å"You shouldn't need more than forty dollars then, right?† â€Å"I guess.† â€Å"It'll be on the counter when you come down.† I shower, apply underarm deodorant, use my father's cologne, and put on my khakis and the dark green button-down shirt Mom bought me at the Gap just yesterday. For some reason, my mother is systematically buying an entire wardrobe for me – and every piece is from the Gap. When I go downstairs, my mom tells me I need to tuck in my shirt and wear a belt. â€Å"Why?† I ask, because I do not really care if I look respectable or not. I only want to get rid of Tiffany once and for all. But when Mom says, â€Å"Please,† I remember that I am trying to be kind instead of right – and I also owe Mom because she rescued me from the bad place – so I go upstairs and put on the brown leather belt she purchased for me earlier in the week. Mom comes into my room with a shoe box and says, â€Å"Put on some dress socks and try these on.† I open the box, and these swanky-looking brown leather loafers are inside. â€Å"Jake said these are what men your age wear casually,† Mom says. When I slip the loafers on and look in the mirror, I see how thin my waistline appears, and I think I look almost as swanky as my little brother. With forty bucks in my pocket, I walk across Knight's Park to Tiffany's parents' house. She is outside, waiting for me on the sidewalk, but I see her mother peeking out the window. Mrs. Webster ducks behind the blinds when we make eye contact. Tiffany does not say hello, but begins walking before I can stop. She is wearing a pink knee-length skirt and a black summer sweater. Her platform sandals make her look taller, and her hair is sort of puffed out around the ears, hanging down to her shoulders. Her eyeliner is a little heavy, and her lips are so pink, but I have to admit she looks great, which I tell her, saying, â€Å"Wow, you look really nice tonight.† â€Å"I like your shoes,† she says in response, and then we walk for thirty minutes without saying another word. We get a booth at the diner, and the server gives us glasses of water. Tiffany orders tea, and I say that water is fine for me. As I read the menu, I worry that I won't have enough money, which is silly, I know, because I have two twenties on me and most of the entrees are under ten bucks, but I do not know what Tiffany will order, and maybe she will want dessert, and then there's the tip. Nikki taught me to overtip; she says waitresses work too hard for such a little bit of money. Nikki knows this because she was a waitress all through college – when we were at La Salle – so I always overtip when I go out to eat now, just to make up for the times in the past when I fought with Nikki over a few dollars, saying fifteen percent was more than enough, because no one tipped me regardless of whether I did my job well or not. Now I am a believer in overtipping, because I am practicing being kind rather than right – and as I am reading the diner menu, I think, What if I do not have enough money left over for a generous tip? I am worrying about all of this so much that I must have missed Tiffany's order, because suddenly the waitress is saying, â€Å"Sir?† When I put my menu down, both Tiffany and the waitress are staring at me, as if they are concerned. So I say, â€Å"Raisin bran,† because I remember reading that cereal is only $2.25. â€Å"Milk?† â€Å"How much is milk?† â€Å"Seventy-five cents.† I figure I can afford it, so I say, â€Å"Please,† and then hand my menu back to the waitress. â€Å"That's it?† I nod, and the waitress sighs audibly before leaving us alone. â€Å"What did you order? I didn't catch it,† I say to Tiffany, trying to sound polite but secretly worrying that I will not have enough money left over for a good tip. â€Å"Just tea,† she says, and then we both look out the window at the cars in the parking lot. When the raisin bran comes, I open the little single-serving box and pour the cereal into the bowl the diner provides free of charge. The milk comes in a miniature pitcher; I pour it over the brown flakes and sugared raisins. I push the bowl to the middle of the table and ask Tiffany if she would like to help me eat the cereal. â€Å"Are you sure?† she says, and when I nod, she picks up her spoon and we eat. When we get the bill, it is for $4.59. I hand our waitress the two twenties, and the woman laughs, shakes her head, and says, â€Å"Change?† When I say, â€Å"No, thank you† – thinking Nikki would want me to overtip – the waitress says to Tiffany, â€Å"Honey, I had him all wrong. You two come back real soon. Okay?† And I can tell the woman is satisfied with her tip because she sort of skips her way to the register. Tiffany doesn't say anything on the walk home, so I don't either. When we get to her house, I tell her I had a great time. â€Å"Thanks,† I say, and then offer a handshake, just so Tiffany will not get the wrong idea. She looks at my hand and then up at me, but she doesn't shake. For a second I think she is going to start crying again, but instead she says, â€Å"Remember when I said you could fuck me?† I nod slowly because I wish I did not remember it so vividly. â€Å"I don't want you to fuck me, Pat. Okay?† â€Å"Okay,† I say. She walks around her parents' house, and then I am alone again. When I arrive home, my mom excitedly asks me what we had for dinner, and when I tell her raisin bran, she laughs and says, â€Å"Really, what did you have?† I ignore her, go to my room, and lock the door. Lying down on my bed, I pick up the picture of Nikki and tell her all about my date and how I gave the waitress a nice tip and how sad Tiffany seems and how much I can't wait for apart time to end so Nikki and I can share raisin bran at some diner and walk through the cool early September air – and then I am crying again. I bury my face and sob into my pillow so my parents will not hear.